Improvement in banjos



R. MGMANUS. Banjo,

No. 215,647. Patented May 20,1879.

u 26; @JW/Zi@ UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIGE.

ROBERT MGMANUS, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO HERMAN SONNTAG AND TILLYSONNTAG, OF EDGEWATER, NEIV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN BANJOS.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 215,647, dated May 20,1879; application tiled April 10, 1879.

llo all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT MCMANUS, of the city ot' Brooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and State ot' New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Banjos; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part o this specification, in which-Figure l represents a side elevation, showing my invention as applied;and Fig. 2, the respective parts ot' the same detached.

This invention relates to devices for securing and adjusting the tensionot' the heads of banjos 5 and it consists in the combination ot' abracket or plate provided with a hook for engagement with the edge ofthe rim, and a detachable hook for engagementwith the hoop upon whichthe head is stretched, said bracket having a projecting` perforated lug,through which the threaded stem ofsaid hook is passed, and the partsconnected by means of a screwnut or other equivalent device.

Heretotore the bracket has been attached to thc rim by means of athreaded bolt and nut passed through the same; and the object of thisinvention is to cheapen the production of the device itself', to savetime and labor in the application, render the same more etlicient, andpresent a superior tinish.

A number oi these devices are distributed around the cirznimierencc ofthe rim in each instrument, as shown in the drawings, and the economyeii'ected in each device is multiplied in the complete instrument.

In the drawings, A represents the head of the instrument, B, the hoopover which the head is drawn, and C the rim upon which the hoopisadjusted, these parts being constructed and relatively arranged in theordinary manner.

.D represents the bracket or plate, (shown detached in Fig. 2,)constructed oi' metal or other suitable material, and in any desireddesign. This bracket is provided with an inwardly-directed hook, d, thatengages with the exposed edge of the rim C, and is also provided with aperforated lug, a, arranged about mid way ot'its length and projectingoutwardly, as shown.

E is a hook, having a threaded stem, b, provided with a nut, c. Thishook engages with the top of the hoop B, and its threaded stem passesthrough the projecting lug a upon the bracket, the nut c, when applied7bearing upon the under side ofthe lug` a, drawing down the hoop E, andincreasing the tension of the head over the top ot' the rim C.

In lieu ofthe screw-thread and nut upon the stem otl the hook E, saidstem may be slotted to receive a wedgeshaped or split key, it' desired.

The hooks E and d, engaging the extremes of the respective parts in linewith the movement of the same upon each other, avoid the tendency tospring, warp, or split the rim, or to cut the bracket.

The mechanical advantages attending this device, as compared with thosein common use and herein referred to, and the economy effected in itsproduction by dispensing with a bolt and nut for securing 'it to therim, and also in avoiding the necessity of perforating the rim toreceive such bolt, particularly when a metallic rim is cn'lployed,cannot be questioned.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the bracket I), provided with the hook d andperforated lug a, and the detachable hook E, provided with the nut e orequivalent fastening device, substantially as described.

ROBERT MCMAN I S.

'Vitnesses:

WILLY SONNTAG, G. D. CURTIS.

